Buy or re-lease? Torn...

Chuckles

Buy the current one man. Then you save your lease payment instead of having another one for the next 2 years and being in the same spot all over again. The cost of tires is nothing compared to a little financial freedom.

MacCool

The thing that ultimately put me off re-leasing is the high lease payment on the new vehicle. I was paying about $540/mo for my 2014. The new lease rate for the 2017 Z was $600/month despite the fact that the price on the 2017 was less.

Looking at the lease numbers, I note that the big difference was in the residual value. The residual value of my 2014 was about $21,000, compared to a KBB retail value of about $23,000. My previous Z, a 2011, had about the same RV, but the KBB retail was almost $27,000. On a 2017, everything else the same (same leasing company, same vehicle, same dealer), the residual value applied by Nissan Leasing was about $15,500. The residual value is, in large part, Nissan's guess as to how much that car will be worth on the market in 3 years.

My guess is that the historically lower residual value on new Z leases is because Nissan is anticipating that by the end of the 36 month lease, the G35 will be out and nobody will want a G34. It seems to me that if the Z was going to just go away, the RV would be higher.

Just a guess. Anyway I decided to just buy this 2014 from the leasing company for $21,000. That will give me some equity to apply to either a lease or a purchase (apparently about $15,000 if Nissan's guess is correct) when the Z35 is released.

kenchan

wow..$540 lease $600 lease crazy

good thing u just bout da rest instead of getting ripped off further.
and get 285/35/19's next time for da rear so u dont need to convince people why ur S04's turned out so narrow..

Ramage

Buy it, then mod it!

__________________
I am not designed to come second or third.. I am designed to WIN! - Ayrton Senna

alcheng

if it's in good shape and no issues here and there, then buy it and drive it with peace of mind.

mattleegee

I didnt know people still leased, would rather skip the extra fees (acquisition $600 and some others, all lost money)
Now you will have equity to trade towards next ride, plus tax credit if sales tax applies to your state

MacCool

.

Fren_Z

buy

ssmoked

Lease might not make sense to cheaper cars, but for more expensive cars its completely worth it. Expensive cars (60-120k) tend to lose value much quicker and hard to predict the residual value (by dealer). A few examples include Lexus GS350 and Maserati Ghibli. 30k miles 2013 GS 350 can be picked up for under 30k with original MSRP of 57-60k. There are so many units flooding the market from lease returns. The Ghibli just flat out didnt sell and dealers are discounting 33% new leftovers. In both cars, leasing 3 yrs ago would fare much better than buying, in regards to resell value.
Also if you get in an accident with a leased vehicle, you dont have to worry about diminished value when returning. If the vehicle was bought, take at least 10% off market value

mattleegee

That kinda makes sense but im still stuck on paying into something with no return
Lets take you example of the GS350 F sport, i went to website and picked out a base one with no additional options

Lease is 36months with $569/month plus $4799 down payment
**Excludes official fees, taxes and dealer charges. No security deposit required. 10,000 mile/year limit.
That is a total of $25,283 without fees/taxes plus any return fees.(Probably close to $35k)

And all that is thrown away unless you buy at end of lease.

Lets say $35k in 3 years pumped into lease that is almost a $1000/month car payment over 36 months, maybe the fees are lighter on the lease lets say you only spend $30k then thats $833/month that you could be pumping into an asset and when you trade it in get a sales tax break on new car purchase, and still gives you some depreciation wiggle room, or possibly positive balance towards new car.

That is just how i think about it, i maybe totally out of line

ssmoked

I don't agree with the 35k figure. The lease alone is 25283, acquisition fee (~$700), disposition return fee (~$700-1000). Lease return fee is waived with release, but that's another story.
Buy or lease, you can't avoid sales tax and state fees.
If you finance a purchase, you are borrowing the whole amount less downpayment. If you lease, only the lease portion is financed/borrowed, so less interest.

When you trade in, remember you already paid the sales tax. There is no free lunch.

It all boils down to how long you plan on keeping the car. If you keep it until the wheels fall off, buy definitely. But if you tend to get a new car/ technology every 3-4 years, lease is the way to go.

With the GS example, it lost over 50% (market value) in 3 years. If you bought, that would leave you upside down and a sour taste in the mouth. If you leased, you walk away or could renegotiate and buy it at lower price

twyrick

Yeah, I dunno.... I used to be the kind of person who was always initially thinking I bought a vehicle I'd keep and drive until it fell apart -- but a few years later? I changed my mind. Sometimes it was just a matter of discovering the car (or truck) wasn't made so well and was developing too many little problems. Other times, my life situation just changed and I had to switch vehicle types to something that made the most sense for my needs.

Whatever the case? I started really questioning if leasing was the smarter choice for me. But in the end, I could never justify it. For one thing, I tend to put enough miles on my vehicles to exceed the allowable limits on the leases. And for another? I agree with the mindset that paying all that money for a lease and then opting not to buy is like throwing all that money away.

At least if I finance? Even if I only keep the car a few years and still owe on the loan, I have the freedom to trade it in as part of a negotiation where the dealer will pay that loan off in full (improving my credit score and history, since it has the record of that car loan paid off). And presuming I'm making a wise enough buying choice with the replacement vehicle -- I might not even wind up "upside down" by much.

I totally agree that leases make a lot of sense for high dollar luxury cars. But you're getting close to 6 figure purchases at that point. That's outside the range of what I've ever spent on a vehicle. (Most I ever spent, to date, was on a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon that set me back something like $44K. But then, it also is one of the cheapest vehicles on the road to insure and it's one that I really DO see myself keeping and driving for many years. Had it 3 years so far and have had zero thoughts of getting rid of it.)

ssmoked

If you go over in miles, you can always buy miles before returning the lease.
Even if you bought vs lease, the depreciation is technically money thrown away too. Never think dealers will pay you a dime extra for a trade in. They are not in business to lose money. They either get you at the new car sales price or low ball you on the trade in.
You are right, the buy logic makes more sense for a car cost under 35k and in demand (fj cruisers, Tacoma, some jeeps), as negotiated purchase price and resell value tend to hold (given it's not American brand). But life happens, accidents, needs all can change in a heart beat, it would be much easier to dispose a vehicle with a lease vs trying to sell a depreciating assets.